Jen posted this list for fun, but my guess is that the reason her list ran such a gamut of professional opportunities is that each of these speaks to a different aspect of her personality.

It’s fun to try to imagine all the things you might do if you weren’t doing whatever it is that currently defines your profession/lifestyle, but it’s also really useful.

If you’re even vaguely contemplating a career change, you need to think really carefully about not only what you’re good at, but what you enjoy. Often, discovering a satisfying career is not so much about the job title itself, but the various tasks you do as you go about your day and which complement your skills and interests.

1. Toll Collector. When I was little, I thought that when you tossed your coins into the toll booth on the highway, someone sat at the bottom of the toll booth and sorted them into piles. Turns out, I was wrong, but I think the fact that I thought that I’d actually enjoy sitting in a cramped, dark space underground sorting out dimes, nickles and quarters into little piles says a lot about my love of order. Translation? I need to run projects.

2. Barrista. Fortunately, in addition to being a closet administrator, I’m also quite extroverted. Which has always made me fantasize about working in the service industry. There was a time in my 20′s when I thought that I should work in a juice bar. But then I realized that I don’t actually drink juice. Coffee, however? Yeah, baby, bring it on. And thanks to my husband, I’m quite expert at using espresso machines! Added bonus to this sort of social job? Multi-tasking. Love it.

4. War Correspondent. I’ve had the pleasure of working as a foreign correspondent but never as a war correspondent, which is an entirely different animal. It’s an incredibly dangerous job, as the recent deaths of Anthony Shadid and Marie Colvin tragically attest. But it’s also a thrilling one, where you can feel that you are really making a difference as a journalist. If you doubt this, go watch The Killing Fields or pick up Deborah Copaken Kogan’s auto-biography, Shutterbabe. With a family in place, I think I’m too old (or too chicken) to pick up this career path right now. But boy, do I wish I’d done it when I was younger.

1. Transportation Engineer (either highway or mass transit)
2. Chef (though the mealtime stress would probably kill me)
3. Librarian (because I love books and helping people learn more)
4. Screenwriter (tried it once and failed, but probably should have moved to LA and tried harder)
5. Architect (though I’m really bad at math and probably would have been lousy at calculating stress)

@howard I absolutely love this list and it proves the point-I bet that each of these speaks to different parts of who you are. LOVING the transportation engineer, BTW-I totally get that: planning, order etc…